Centuries
by EpicFailMeiku
Summary: He felt oddly peaceful after such a long fight. Kyuubi was busy licking his wounds clean, growling empty threats but Naruto paid no mind. The moon was full, and the sakura blossoms were in full bloom."


Centuries:

Naruto leaned against the tree, letting out a heavy sigh. He felt oddly peaceful after such a long fight. Kyuubi was busy licking his wounds clean, growling empty threats at the blonde three-tailed kitsune, but Naruto paid no mind. The moon was full, and the sakura blossoms were in full bloom. So Naruto felt wonderfully peaceful, even while drenched in blood and covered in ugly gashes.

"You should pay more attention during your fights with demons, kit."

"Uh-huh."

"Daydreaming will get you killed one of these days."

"Right. It's possible for me to die when my wonderful familiar is around."

Kyuubi snorted, bracing his paws on Naruto's chest so he could get to eye-level with the younger demon.

"I'm not always around, Naruto. And I'd hate to die suddenly while in the middle of a poker game because my little idiotic kit decided he was going to pay more attention to a wall than an opponent."

Naruto smiled at the concerned look in Kyuubi's golden eyes. It was nice to know the legendary demon had a soft side.

"I won't be killed by any of these parasites."

Kyuubi growled, rolling his eyes, and going back to licking the wounds clean.

Naruto's gaze fell to the wall, and the city just beyond it. Lately there were so many demons trying to get in—so many terrible demons… It was frightening how many there were…

"They're okay, you know," Kyuubi muttered, examining the blonde.

"Hmm?"

"Your humans. They're fine. You made sure they would be. You haven't let a single demon get within a five-hundred kilometer radius. You've taken good care of them."

Naruto smiled, letting his eyes slide shut. "But I've always worried unnecessarily when it comes to my village, haven't I?"

"And I'll put money down that you always will."

Naruto laughed, scratching behind the nine-tails' ear. "Probably. Would you have me any other way?"

"I'd have you focused when I need you to be. I'd have you not constantly trying to catch glimpses of people who don't know you. I'd have you give up on finding any of them ever again, because they won't be reborn while you're watching for it. Fate doesn't work that way."

Naruto's smile dropped a bit, "It's hard," he murmured. "It's hard to give up on them."

Kyuubi sighed and curled up in his kit's lap. "We should head over to Suna this month. Gaara and his siblings invited us, you know. It'd be nice to see them again."

"You mean it'd be nice for me to not constantly watching the road to the gate for demons."

"Well…"

"I'll go if it'll make you feel better."

Kyuubi purred, "Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, whatever. I know I'm difficult to deal with."

Naruto stared at the moon, and the busteling city below it, through the sakura blossoms. Three centuries had really changed the place. The Hokage's faces decorating the mountain were vast in number, but slowly losing dignity. After Shikamaru's, they were just… Faces to hide the increasingly corrupt council. It hurt to see them sometimes. Now the Hokage was just a title to be born into and a position to cover whatever the council was doing.

There was little to do with the old way of life—there were no wars waged by ninjas, there were no talks of demons, there were not even any true ninjas left. Naruto had watched the last of them die in that last war…

Three centuries was a long time to wait for friends to be reborn. Three centuries was a long time to be kept out of his village.

Watching over it kept him sane though. Watching over Konoha kept him alive. Waiting for Sasuke and Sai and Sakura and Kakashi to come back… Well, no matter the amount of time, Naruto knew that it would be too long and the decades he had with them would be far from satisfactory. Still, he waited and watched. He protected and loved from afar…

He had made a vow when he left Konoha with that fake smile plastered on his face. He had vowed to protect the city until the day he died. He intended to hold to that…

Kyuubi purred in his sleep. Naruto felt peaceful as he too drifted into warm, dark bliss where he had never been separated and had died centuries ago beside his friends.

* * *

_Sort of a follow up of_ So Much Easier Drunk_... Kind of angsty but I like it. I'm thinking of making a second part to this but I don't know. You tell me._


End file.
